On August 23, Bharatiya Janata Party suspended its Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh for an alleged post on Prophet Muhammad. Raja Singh was earlier arrested on Tuesday after severe protests broke in Hyderabad last night at South Zone DCP office, where protesters demanded immediate action against Singh and chanted ‘Sar Tan Se Juda,’ an Islamist chant calling for his beheading for ‘blasphemy’ against Prophet Muhammad.
The decision to suspend Raja Singh by the BJP has drawn the ire of even the party supporters online, very similar to the reaction following Nupur Sharma’s suspension from the party.
Raja Singh posted a comedy video on Monday, August 21, in which the demonstrators claim that he used abusive language toward Prophet Muhammad. Multiple people filed a complaint against Singh and said that he had hurt the religious sentiments of the Islamists. Calls for his beheading were also made at the police station as per reports. The Police then booked the BJP MLA under IPC section 153A (Promoting enmity between two groups) and similar sections at the Dabeerpura police station.
Interestingly, Raja Singh had shared the video in protest against alleged comedian Munawar Faruqui and his show in Hyderabad. Raja has been protesting against Faruqui’s show in Hyderabad and was even taken in preventive custody on August 19 to ensure he doesn’t disrupt the comedian’s appearance in Hyderabad.
Singh had released a video that went viral over social media to reveal that the ‘comedian’ had cracked jokes on Hindu gods and should not be permitted to perform in Hyderabad. “Let them see what will happen if he is invited to stage a show in Hyderabad. Wherever the program is held, we shall beat him up. Whoever offers him a venue, we shall set it afire,” Singh had allegedly said in the video.
Munawar Faruqui’s anti-Hindu comments
Munawar Faruqui drew the ire of the public for his abject mockery of Hindu victims of the Godhra train burning incident, a tragedy in which 59 people were burnt alive when Sabarmati Express carrying karsevaks from Ayodhya, was set on fire allegedly by a Muslim mob near Godhra station. In one of his stand-up gigs from the year 2020, Faruqui was seen downplaying the Godhra tragedy and ridiculing the victims.
In addition to this, the outrage against Munawar is also powered by his unsavoury remarks against Hindu deities. Faruqui, in one of his stand-up performance, used lyrics of a popular Bollywood score to mock Lord Rama over his 14 years of exile, and portrayed Sita as an insecure wife suspicious of her husband Lord Rama’s loyalty towards her.
Munawar Faruqui’s show in Hyderabad got special police protection
The Telangana government went out of its way to ensure that Faruqui’s show in Hyderabad went ahead as smoothly as possible. The venue was turned into a fortress by the heavy police presence and anyone protesting against the comedian infamous for his anti-Hindu comments was arrested.
Over 50 BJYM members were taken into custody at the venue, while others like Raja Singh were already in police custody.
Secularism- Difference in treatment of Raja Singh and Munawar Faruqui by Telangana government
Raja Singh, accused of hurting religious sentiments of Muslims, is now behind bars in Hyderabad, a city where he is the MLA, an elected public representative. He has been suspended by his own party, and will most likely get expelled as well. There are mobs on the streets of Hyderabad calling for his beheading and the state will much rather take action against him than act against the people publicly calling for violence.
In the same city, someone like Munawar Faruqui, accused of hurting Hindu sentiments, gets a red carpet welcome. His show gets more security than the most high-profile VVIPs, dozens get arrested to ensure nobody ruins his performance. This double-standard in the treatment of people who offend Muslims versus people who offend Hindus is what passes for secularism in this country.
While Munawar Faruqui will continue to enjoy his fame and freedom, taking part in reality shows, and performing around the country, Raja Singh will forever be a marked man now. His political career is all but over, you can’t be a public figure if you can no longer go out in public safely, and he will always be looking over his shoulder for an attack.
